I jolted awake, cold sweat dripping off my body. I dreamt about that damn vision I had from earlier, but this time I was enjoying it... I pushed the thought out of my head and I got out of bed, ignoring the blankets spilled on the ground. I checked the time: 10:38am. It was still pretty early, 'casue ever since I was fired from my job a normal “morning” for me would begin at 2pm, but I got up anyway and washed my face. I wasn't likely to have fallen asleep again after that dream, and I definitely don’t think I would want to. But after a few minutes, I managed to calm down and shake the last remaining wisps of the dream aside.

With the last of the dread purged from my body, I realized that I was really damn hungry. When was the last time I ate anything? With food in mind, I grabbed the wallet and key card from the drawer, and left my new home.

Looking around the hallway, I could only surmise that food lay in the direction of the sign that said “General Affair's Sector”. I passed through the door and was awestruck by what lay ahead of me. When Sarah Fortune said that this place was made for long term say, she wasn't joking around. The area before me was absolutely massive, I couldn't see the end of the general affair's sector from my position and the high ceiling extended dozens of meters above me. There were multicoloured structures everywhere I looked, each with vibrant neon signs and the ample amounts of street lamps lit the whole sector in a dim glow. The entire scene looked liked a busy city street situated in an all consuming twilight; it was night life incarnate. And there was absolutely no lack of people, although it wasn't quite as busy as say, the LA street life. There were people walking around talking, people drinking beers with their buds at a local pub, and busy business-like people making important phone calls; all in all, it wasn't too unlike the outside world.

Speaking of my own world, when was the last time I've ever just walked around like this? If I didn't have something to do I'd just waste the days away in front of the TV or computer, dredging through the day. It felt nice stretching the legs for once, just seeing the sights without anything to worry about. I felt like a ghost, wandering the streets without a care in the world, just aimlessly passing through the crowds, stopping occasionally at whatever happened to interest me. I was just another faceless individual, I didn't have to run for my life, or struggle to escape some hellhole. I felt... normal.

It wasn't until I noticed the spicy aroma of something cooking that my stomach brought my attention to the matter at hand: I was still hungry. I headed towards the source of the smell and after a short stroll, I was standing outside an unassuming pub named “The Hungry Boar”. What did catch my attention, however, was the huge sign that read “Ability Neutral Zone” conveniently positioned beside the door. I could probably guess just exactly what that meant, and that got me curious, because even from my earlier stroll I haven't seen a single ability outside the norm. Guess people really do adhere to the general rules of this place.

I walked into the bar, and despite my enthusiasm to see something spectacular, the pub was pretty average. Nothing out of the ordinary at all; the lighting was dim and moody like every other bar I've ever seen, at the front displayed several sets of flat screen T.V.'s, and hovering around it were a couple of guys laughing and watching a soccer game. There were waitresses (their uniforms showing ample cleavage) running around taking orders, and a general sense of movement. All in all, there was nothing that would distinguish this bar from the thousands of other ones not housed in an underground supernatural facility.

The smell of food soon drowned my disappointment and I quickly grabbed an empty seat near the bar. The bartender, apparently named Eugene by his warn out name tag, was anything but what his name suggests. This person, if you can even call him that, was an absolute hulk of a man; he had forearms the size of my waist, a chest that looked like it was carved out of granite, and a demeanour to match the look. I started to wonder if maybe this was some sort of supernatural power, 'cause I'm pretty sure no person could grow to be so huge. He could probably bench-press 10 of me.

Evidently my gawking caught his attention, he came over to my corner and gave me a look that borders interest and I-wanna-kill-you, but eventually he grunted and handed me a menu.

“Thanks um, Eugene, glad to see someone's friendly around here.” I said sarcastically before I could think – I tend to do that a lot recently. Good thing he didn't reply to my stupidity. Or ground my bones into dust.

I looked down at the menu, trying to figure out what exactly was causing that delicious aroma I smelled earlier. I flipped through the pages, and for the life of me I couldn't find anything that could remotely be of that scent. Before I could ask Eugene for exactly what that smell was, a soft, velvet voice spoke into my ears.

“Don't worry about it, hun.” the voice hymned, “The dish you're looking for isn't listed in the menu, it's called the Galder Kolmon, just ask the big softie over there and he'll whip you up some.”

I turned around and almost fell off my chair at what I saw – the owner of that melodic voice was absolutely stunning. And I mean that quite literally, because I couldn't have moved my gaze off her even if I wanted to. She had radiant golden hair that flowed with each movement she made, and aqua blue eyes that dared the viewer to peer ever deeper into them. Below her high cheek bones and slender nose was lips that would tempt even the purest of saints into sin; it took all my will power to stop myself from grabbing her and kissing them right there. She wore a flowing red gown that barely covered her graceful body, leaving the imagination to wonder if the perfection continued underneath the fragile fabric. She was neither thin like those fashion models you saw on magazines, nor plump enough to be called chubby. She was... perfect, that was the only thing I could call her. Perfect.

I couldn't bring myself to look away from her.

She leaned forward, and I could just feel my gaze lowering to where the neck of her dress parted from her chest, parting to show those delicate breasts of hers, but the fabric swayed ever so slightly to obscure the view.

“But I'm not here to talk about food,” she said, “and as much as I wish that we could just relax and chat the hours away, fate has other plans. I'm here to warn you, Francis Morgan, so listen carefully: in less than 24 hours from now something monstrous will come here for you, and you absolutely must be with the woman Kelley at that time if you wish to have a chance to survive. I wish I could do more, but this is the extent that I am allowed to intervene, so until next time, I shall pray for your safety. Remember Frank, 24 hours.”

Wait, did she call me by my name? My brain was mush at that point, but I'm sure I didn't tell her anything – in fact, I'm pretty sure that even if I tried nothing sensible would come out – and unless she has some kind of telepathy or works for Ms. Fortune, she wouldn't have known it.

I shook my head a little, clearing my thoughts, and before I could even ask this mysterious lady in red a thing, she was gone. Just gone; she didn't walk out of the bar, because I must have taken my eyes off her boobs – err I mean her figure for a second at most and it was impossible to not notice her leave. In fact, looking around the bar now I realized that it seemed like no one noticed her being there in the first place. I mean, how can any guy with eyes not notice her walking around, and there were plenty of guys in here.

Was she just a part of my imagination? Maybe the creepy voice in the ground was actually a smoking hot seductress. Unlikely, of course, but still, she seemed too real to be just a part of my imagination. Hell, I doubt I could even dream up a girl that stunning!

I was going to dismiss the event as some sort of hallucination until I realized that she said something to me before the creepy warning. I was still a little sceptical, but if she wasn't a figment of my imagination, I dearly want to meet her again.

I flagged the bar tender and told him I was ready to order.

“I'll have a cup of coffee, black, and a, uh...” What did she say the dish was? Galder Coleslaw? Kollman? Oh right! “and a serving of Galder Kolmon, if you don't mind.”

The bar tender game me a weird look, and for a moment there I thought I made a fool out of myself and I asked him for a dish that most likely didn't exist. However, he grunted what I can only imagine is an “okay” and left the table... which means that the dish actually existed! And that either means that meaning that sexy lady in red was real, or I had latent psychic powers that I didn't know about. I'm hoping for the first option.

But how she could have possibly gotten in and out of the bar without people noticing, and how it could be that she knew my name before hand? Since this is a place filled with the supernatural, she could have been a spirit or ghost of some sort, but she was way too real for that to make sense. Maybe she had the ability to become invisible? But that wouldn't explain how I saw her or how no one else heard her talking to me (or at least I'm pretty sure no one else noticed her, my focus was... elsewhere). As I continued to contemplate the possibilities, Eugene got me my coffee and a short time later he handed me my beautiful Galdar Kolmon. Oh what a sweet sight that was to my empty stomach. The aroma of the food was more than sufficient to snuff out all other interests I had at the time and I quickly wolfed down the platter.

I finished the food in under five minutes, and was tempted to order a second plate when another thought wandered into my awareness: if the girl in red wasn't just a part of my unconscious delusions, then her warning could be very real indeed. I was pretty sure that the SIDNA headquarters was a pretty secure place, and I doubt that anything can get past the security of this fortress, but after all the weird shit that I've gone through, nothing is out of the realms of possibility.

I called Eugene over again and paid my bill, adding a hefty tip for his services (it wasn't my money anyway), and left the establishment.

Even lost in thought, the sight of the place still took my breathe away; just how can such a huge place be hidden underground anyway? The intricate network of tunnels and streets that littered the underground metropolis must have taken decades, if not centuries to construct, and the huge buildings that stretch across the horizon seem almost unreal. And yet here I was, one of countless individuals that crowd this ersatz city, it almost made me feel like I was on the surface again, in my old life. But there's no time to worry about that now, my life isn't what it was a week ago, and I had more pressing matters to attend to.

First thing's first, I needed more information about this place. I asked a passerby about where I would be able to find a place that I could enquire about information on the supernatural and he politely pointed to a far off dome-like structure. I said my thank-you's and started a brisk jog to the place, all the while thinking about the lady in red.

I wondered about who she was, how she knew my name, and what exactly it was that I needed to be weary about. Heck, she even knew what I wanted to eat. And more often than not, I wondered what was under that tight, red dress...

With so many things juggled in my mind I barely registered that I arrived at my destination. I don't know how I managed to almost miss the place, since it was the size of a small village. The structure must have been at least 12 stories high, with it's outer walls zig-zagging out quite a distance away. But other than its sheer size, there was nothing too interesting about the place other than the enormous dome like roof.

I looked around a bit, and eventually found the front entrance to the place (or at least I thought it was the front). Not sure what else to do, I pushed open the huge wooden doors and went inside.